One bet to change it all
by devotedtodreams
Summary: It all began when Katsuya Jounouchi became Mokuba's go-to person for having fun. Then a summer history assignment forces Katsuya to work together with Seto Kaiba, and they make a bet on its outcome. Neither of them expect this to change their relationship in the way it ends up doing, though. / First fic in years! Shounen-ai, AU after Battle City. KxJ, BxR, MxM, YxY, maybe AxM
1. Chapter 1

It has been a few years, but now I've decided to try and return to this site again. After college, I felt like any ability I may have ever had to write had been vanquished by all those assignments that required boring scientific writing, and then it was time to work for a living. I'm still struggling as I try to return to my roots, but finally I feel that I've written something semi-decent - namely, what you are about to read.

Perhaps some of you remember one of my old fics, "Sun, fun and nothing to do". Even back in the day, I toyed with the thought of writing its prequel, and now it's finally happening after I've returned to the YGO fandom and my OTP (puppyshipping) after... geez, so many years :') This is the story of how Seto and Katsuya got together and formed the Kaiba family as portrayed in that particular fic. I hope you will enjoy it!

**Note:** I cannot promise 100% IC-ness. I can try, yes, but I still feel like one should be able to take certain liberties when writing fanfiction if they choose to do so. I dunno, maybe I've looked up one too many sporkings or come across too many blogs where people insist that everything be 100% IC or according to canon. Therefore, I only have one request: please only use constructive criticism, and if you're looking for a 100% accurate fic as previously described, hit the back button or close this tab.

Now... storytime, go!

EDIT: Forgot the disclaimer. Damn, I feel stupid XD Yeah, I don't own any of these characters, they all belong to Kazuki Takahashi!

* * *

When Mokuba Kaiba opened his grey eyes to the insistent ringing of his alarm clock, it took him but a moment to snap out of the sleepiness that clung to him. With a noise of excitement, he hopped out of bed, hastily donned some casual clothes, then dashed downstairs. He had long since memorized the morning routine within these walls; at this hour, his destination was the kitchen, where he would barge in to happen upon –

"Nii-sama, I'm ready! Let's –" he cried, but stopped mid-cry when he noticed the empty table. On it laid a folded newspaper and a used coffee mug. "…go," he finally finished in a small and disappointed voice. Then: "Nii-sama?" he called loudly, leaving the kitchen.

His steps took him to the foyer, and he was about to go back upstairs and check his brother's study when Isono appeared.

"Can I help you, Master Mokuba?" their most faithful servant asked.

"Yeah; where's Seto? He said he'd go to the carnival with me today!"

Isono blinked. "Master Kaiba left two hours ago for work."

Mokuba's face fell, now looking a far cry from when he had woken up. "But… but he promised…!"

"I'm sure he didn't forget on purpose, Master Mokuba," Isono said helpfully.

The boy's face hardened and turned into a frown. "Yeah right! Why can't he ever keep these promises?!"

Isono said nothing; he doubted there were any disarming words for this situation, since he had become accustomed to them.

Mokuba briefly stared a hole into the floor as he pondered his next steps. When he drew a spontaneous conclusion, he whirled around and headed for the door. "I'm going out," he simply said.

"When will you be back?" Isono asked.

"I don't know," Mokuba said as he wrenched open the door.

"But Master Mokuba –" the man wearing sunglasses began, knowing it was bad for him if he couldn't provide information on the youngster's whereabouts, should Seto Kaiba happen to call or ask about this matter upon coming home.

"Later," was the curt response before the mansion doors slammed shut.

Outside, Mokuba broke into a run as he crossed the grand area complete with a fountain that formed their majestic driveway and exited through the front gate. He didn't look back once and hoped he wasn't being followed. Just to be safe, he quickly fished out his cell phone and selected Flight Mode.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He altered between a run and a brisk trot until he had reached Domino City Plaza, where he stuck to the outskirts to avoid drawing attention to himself. Even at a quick glance around, he spotted the tall glass building that towered above all others in Domino, and he scowled as his disappointment returned full-force.

"Thanks a lot, Seto," he muttered sullenly as he headed west, aiming for the Kame Game Shop where he was bound to find Yugi and perhaps some of his friends too.

Just as he passed Domino City Market, a familiar voice called out to him:

"Hey Mokuba! What's up?"

He turned to look and spotted a blond teen who had just exited the supermarket, sipping a jumbo-sized soft drink. The light green jacket, worn jeans and hazel eyes left no doubt about it: his paths had crossed with Katsuya Jounouchi, Yugi's best friend.

"Hi Jou!" he exclaimed and hurried over to the older teen. His older brother didn't have a terribly favorable opinion on the blond, but over the course of the adventures they had been through, Mokuba had decided that Katsuya was quite fun to hang around with – it helped that his and Seto's take on "fun" was light years apart, with Katsuya ranging more along Mokuba's lines.

"Whatcha doing?" Katsuya asked casually, sipping his Coke.

"I want to go to the carnival. Seto was supposed to go with me today, but… he forgot," he answered, bowing his head.

The youngster's obvious disappointment elicited sympathy from Katsuya.

"Ah, that's a bummer. Isn't it leaving town again soon?"

"Tomorrow," Mokuba confirmed sadly.

Katsuya thought briefly about the whole ordeal, then snapped his fingers and said with a grin: "Hey, how about if I go with you instead?"

Seto's brother looked up, surprise and hopefulness alike shining in his eyes. "Really, Jou? You'd go with me?"

"Sure! Technically I'm on my way to work, **but**," he said quickly, noticing how the happiness already began to fade, "I'm sure it's no problem. Hang on a sec…"

Katsuya plucked his cell phone out of his jeans and quickly dialed the number of the Kame Game Shop. Yugi answered the phone. Katsuya worked part-time at the Game Shop, and fortunately for him, not only was he himself quite flexible in terms of availability, but so were the Mutous. After a brief discussion, he focused on Mokuba again.

"Yug' says it's okay if I don't come today. Let's go, sport!"

"Really? Thanks, Jou! You're awesome!" Mokuba cheered and glomped the older teen out of sheer excitement.

Katsuya laughed at this, then the two of them made tracks for the carnival.

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Along the way, Katsuya learned of Mokuba's plight when it came to spending quality time with Seto. The brunet was deeply engrossed with his work on expanding Kaibaland, and Mokuba's problem was that even though the CEO was well within his own set schedule, he still kept breaking many promises about going places with Mokuba. Still; getting dumped like this with no explanation at all was something Mokuba hadn't often experienced yet, and he hated it. He hated feeling so disappointed in his older brother, and he hated that try as he might, he couldn't accept the fact that Seto's work was taking up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the young CEO's life… again. After Duelist Kingdom, things had improved for a while, but then Battle City had come along – and yet even that had been different from now. Mokuba was feeling more distant to his honorable older brother than he had in years, and it both worried and hurt him.

But at the carnival, his worries were quickly swept away: Katsuya allowed him to lead the way, happily agreeing to any activity. No ride was too high or wild for him, he never worried about safety issues and wasn't beneath trying his luck at the various stands that offered cute prizes – and to top it off, he was all too eager to get sugary drinks, cotton candy and the likes. Mokuba was certain that even if Seto **had** kept his promise, he would have drawn the line at this. Sweet foods and drinks were rarely found on the brunet's list of things he consumed.

With all the fun they were having, time practically flew by, and all too soon, it was closing time. The pair headed for the exit, carrying more than they had upon coming here: a photo from one of the rollercoasters on which both of them were yelling delightedly amidst an adrenaline rush, a maxi-sized panda plushie Mokuba had won in an amazing game of darts, and a medium-sized Blue-Eyes White Dragon plushie for Katsuya, who had flawlessly shot a series of baskets.

"Darn it, too bad they don't have a Red-Eyes," he had grumbled upon receiving his prize. Mokuba had only grinned, and it hadn't been long before it had dawned on the older teen's face too.

He agreed to accompany Mokuba home, and all the way there, they reminisced about their day and what they had liked best about it.

At the gates, Mokuba hugged Katsuya gratefully. "Thank you so much for coming with me, Jou; I had so much fun!"

"Aww, don't mention it," Katsuya replied, returning the embrace, "I had a great time too. If you ever wanna hang out again, just gimme a ring, okay?"

"Right! What's your number?" Mokuba asked, whipping out his cell phone. Then his face fell a bit. "Oh no, looks like it died sometime today…"

"No problem; got a pen?"

"No, but you could quickly come inside, then we–"

"Mokuba! Where have you been?!" a stern voice interrupted their conversation.

They both spun around, just in time to see a very tall brunet with cold blue eyes wrench open the front gate. He didn't look like a happy camper at all.

Katsuya whistled softly. "Oh shit…"

"Seto! I… um… well…" At first, Mokuba was caught off-guard by the sudden presence of his obviously agitated brother, but he quickly got over it and squared his shoulders. "Funny you should ask: where were **you**?"

Seto raised an elegant eyebrow. "At work, of course. Why do you ask such a silly question?"

"Because you apparently forgot what today was!" the boy replied, and Seto was somewhat taken aback to see disappointment in his brother's features.

He thought for a moment, but couldn't even invite Mokuba to prompt him before the boy continued:

"We were supposed to go to the carnival today, Seto! You promised! And you **forgot**! So I went with Jou instead!"

Carnival? And suddenly Seto remembered: oh God, yes, he had made that promise after much begging from Mokuba!

"I'm sorry, Mokuba –" he began.

"– but I forgot, I know," his sibling finished disdainfully. "Whatever."

"But why with **him**?" Seto asked, gesturing to Katsuya yet not sparing the other duelist a glance, "You could have asked Isono!"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "I wanted to have **fun**, Seto. Isono is good for keeping an eye on people, not for having fun. Jou is, though," he added, happily smiling at the other teen, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as Seto's piercing gaze set upon him.

"If **anything** had happened to Mokuba…" the brunet said, lowering his voice to a venomous tone.

"Hey, chill out, okay? We were fine; we can look out for ourselves!" Katsuya protested, raising his hands defensively. "Kid, I think I'll split before he tears me apart or something," he muttered to Mokuba. Seto scowled at this.

The youngster looked rueful. "I'm sorry, Jou…"

"Nah, you've got nothing to be sorry about. Everything went fine, didn't it? Listen, you know where to find me next time you need company, 'kay?"

Looking hopeful and perhaps already looking forward to the next time, Mokuba nodded. "Okay!"

They high-fived each other, then Katsuya stepped up to Seto. "Hey Rich Boy, perhaps you'd like this more than me." With that, he thrust the Blue-Eyes plushie into Seto's unsuspecting arms, taking the CEO completely by surprise. "That's **your** monster, after all. Well, see ya!" he bade goodbye to both Kaiba brothers, then trotted off, leaving a happily waving Mokuba and a flabbergasted Seto behind.

"What the hell…?!" the brunet finally exclaimed, holding up the plushie as if it were a piece of filth.

"Jou won it by shooting baskets. And I won this," Mokuba explained matter-of-factly, holding up his panda.

"That's nice," Seto responded absently. "I have no use for this…!" he continued, narrowing his eyes at the innocent plushie.

"Aw, come on, Seto, it's a present! And it **is** a Blue-Eyes, after all," Mokuba told him, knowing how fond Seto was of the powerful monster.

Grimacing, Seto clutched the dragon by its neck before heading back across the mansion grounds. Mokuba hurried to follow.

"Mokuba, why didn't you at least call me? Do you have any idea how worried I was when I came home and you weren't anywhere to be found?" Seto scolded.

"My phone died during the day. Then I was having so much fun… I guess I **forgot**," Mokuba said not without some snarkiness in his voice as the two brothers entered the mansion again.

"Look, I said I'm sorry, alright?" Seto asked impatiently, facing him in the foyer, "But this is about your safety. If something had happened to you…"

"Jou would have protected me," Mokuba argued.

"But if he **hadn't** been with you…!" Seto sighed and ran one hand through his hair in exasperation. "Listen, little brother, just please tell me where you're off to next time. I only want you to be safe or at least have a means by which to contact me in case of an emergency. …Or contact me at all," he added pointedly.

Mokuba averted his gaze and shuffled his feet a bit. "Sorry, Seto… but I really wanted to go…"

"Just promise me, okay?"

"Okay. But I'd like it if you kept your promise next time."

"I'll try," Seto told him.

Mokuba frowned, but said nothing. He knew that given how much of a workaholic Seto was, this was the best one could get out of him. He wished it were otherwise, though.

"And by the way, I do hope you'll choose more favorable company next time, should this situation ever occur again," Seto said.

"What's wrong with Jou?" Mokuba asked defiantly, clutching his panda.

"Kaibas don't associate with mutts. You just end up spending a lot of money on them for nothing, as you undoubtedly did today too," Seto huffed.

Mokuba stuck up his nose and marched off to the stairs – he had heard enough from his brother. And after breaking a promise, even! "For your information, Seto: Jou paid for everything today. I didn't have any money with me. And I will pay him back because he made me happy."

"Mokuba!"

But the young teen didn't listen anymore as he made a beeline for his room, locking the door behind him. He didn't approve of his brother's condescending attitude toward Katsuya; then again, this was nothing new. When they weren't literally at each other's throats, though, Katsuya seemed to take it in stride; after all, Mokuba thought as he parked the panda on his big bed, Katsuya had plenty of friends from whom he could expect better treatment. Seto, on the other hand… he had nobody, even if he claimed to not need it. Sometimes, Mokuba caught himself wondering if that statement was true. But so far, all his attempts to find out more about this had been smartly cut off the CEO, who lived in his world of work, work and more work.

Yes, sometimes Mokuba worried about his brother. Recently, more often, in fact…

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One Saturday later found Mokuba and Katsuya in each other's company again. Having exchanged phone numbers in the meantime, it had been easy for them to meet up at the game arcade. This time, Seto had flat-out refused to "go out and have fun", but the disappointment hadn't been so great for Mokuba now that he knew he could call upon Katsuya instead. It marked the beginning of a new trend, as Seto concluded roughly a month later…

It hit him on the way home one Saturday evening. Something had seemed amiss in his daily life, and after carefully recapping the last two or so weeks in his mind, he realized what it was: ordinarily, Mokuba would ask him at least once a week if they could hang out together. But in these past two weeks, any such requests had been completely absent from his life – along with any complaints about Seto being too obsessed with his work.

The elder Kaiba hummed thoughtfully; this was highly unusual, and he decided to see if everything was alright with Mokuba, even though the youngster seemed as cheerful as usual. The limousine drove him right up to the front door, but that was where normality ended for Seto: when he entered the mansion, no one came running to say hello and give him a hug that tended to be the unspoken highlight of his day. Furrowing his brow, Seto discarded his briefcase just as Isono appeared.

"Good evening, Master Kaiba."

"Evening, Isono. Where is Mokuba?" Seto asked, getting straight to the point.

"Master Mokuba is in the living room doing his homework."

The CEO's blue eyes widened a bit. His little brother? Doing his homework before being asked if he had finished it (which he usually didn't)? Something was not right…

"Thanks," he said curtly before he swept off.

In said living room, a sight greeted him that halted him in his tracks: Mokuba was indeed sitting at the generous table of their spacious sofa corner, his math textbooks spread out in front of him. And he wasn't alone. Sitting next to him was Katsuya, who – incredibly enough, considering how the blond openly hated math and tended not to be too good at it – was helping him finish the assigned problems. Or trying to, Seto reasoned. This was merely a peripheral thought, though, seeing as he was still preoccupied with processing the undeniable fact that the "mutt" was in their living room.

"Mokuba?" a single word finally left his mouth. He felt as if he were operating on auto-pilot.

The raven-haired boy peered over the sofa lean and beamed. "Hi Seto! Welcome home!"

Katsuya mimicked him with a carefree grin and a mock salute. "Yo, Moneybags!"

"What the hell are **you** doing here?" Seto asked, his voice abruptly acquiring a dark tone.

"Mokuba here asked me if I'd hang out with him after we went to the arcade, so I figured what the hey, why not. And somehow we ended up doing math, right?" he asked, ruffling the younger one's hair. The sight triggered a violent emotional response in Seto, especially when Mokuba gave the blond a smile that said 'this means the world to me'.

"You had better be house-broken!" Seto hissed.

Irritation flitted across Katsuya's face, though it couldn't quite vanquish his grin. "Geez, would it kill you to chill out every once in a while? No need to get so personal!"

"Yeah, stop picking on Jou!" Mokuba chimed in, clearly displeased by his brother's scathing comment.

"Mokuba, don't you remember what I told you about favorable company? Besides, everyone knows Jounouchi is terrible at math. Surely you don't actively wish for your grades to drop?"

Katsuya knew that to an extent, Seto was speaking the truth, but the second accusation had him fuming. "Kaiba, shut your trap; you're starting to piss me off!"

"Good," was the flat retort.

"I don't think we've gotten any of the problems wrong," Mokuba told him.

"That's beside the point. Mutt, leave my property this instant, or I'll sic the hounds on you."

"But Seto, he's our guest!" Mokuba protested.

"Correction: he's **your** guest. But **I** don't want him in here, and that's final."

"But **Seto** –"

"Easy there, kiddo. I can tell when I'm not wanted," Katsuya interrupted as he rose from the couch. "Maybe some other time?" He pointedly ignored the indignant huff from Seto in the background.

"Or maybe I could come to your place next time?" Mokuba suggested.

Katsuya opened his mouth, but Seto beat him to the response: "Mokuba, I forbid it. There is no way I'm allowing you to set foot in that dump!"

"How do you know it's a dump? Have you ever been there before?"

"Of course not, but I have my ways of knowing these things."

It was true that he had never seen how Katsuya lived, but he knew the blond lived in one of the dingier parts of town. Also, the state of the other teen's limited wardrobe and the slight smell that lingered in those clothes spoke a tale in itself.

Katsuya surprised both of them when he finally spoke up:

"Listen to Rich Boy, Mokuba. I don't think it'd be a good idea if you came to my place." His lowered voice indicated his embarrassment over this particular topic.

"Jou…"

A somewhat forced-looking smile was offered. "I'll be going now. But… remember what I said just now. And our deal still stands, right?"

"Alright," Mokuba agreed glumly, "Thanks for your help."

"No problem." Katsuya gave his shoulder an encouraging pat before seeking to exit the room. When he was nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Seto, he stopped. Hazel eyes met blue ones as he muttered:

"You're a bastard, Kaiba, but I gotta agree with you: don't let him come to my place."

"You're crazy if you think I ever would. Now scram," Seto said coldly.

Katsuya snorted, then marched off. Shortly thereafter, the sound of the front door opening and closing again could be heard. Mokuba had ventured over to the window and watched him leave the grounds.

"Why'd you have to be so mean to him, Seto?" he asked unhappily.

In the window, his brother's reflection appeared behind him. "It's his own fault for making himself such an easy target. Besides, I encounter plenty of useless idiots every day at work – I shouldn't have to deal with them in my own home too." Noticing the somewhat accusing stare his brother directed at his reflection, the brunet settled for the smallest of compromises: "Alright; he may have made some slight improvements as a duelist, but he's useless in every other way. To me, at least."

Mokuba averted his gaze again. "I'm glad he still wants to be my friend."

Seto just hummed indifferently before leaving the living room. Before he did so, however, he made a brief pit stop at the sofa, where he peered at the open textbooks, sampling the gathered solutions. Mokuba stayed at the window, pretending he didn't notice, but he noted with a slight note of smugness that there were indeed no mistakes to be found – because if they had existed, Seto surely would have pointed them out.

As for Seto, he expertly hid his surprise that all the solutions were indeed correct, but figured it could be nothing more than a coincidence. He decided to go to his own personal bathroom before retiring to his home-office, and on the way, he casually draped his trench coat over the chair standing guard next to the bathroom. The coat buried a Blue-Eyes White Dragon plushie, which had taken up residence square in the middle of the chair's cushion.

Little did Seto know that his presumption about Katsuya's uselessness would soon be questioned…

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Feel free to review, especially if you liked it! :)

Have a nice day!


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here it is: the second chapter to my story! I hope it won't be disappointing... ^^;

Many, many thanks to the lovely people who reviewed the previous chapter - this one's for you! Especially the lovely **Yatziri** \- it's so nice to make friends with a fellow puppyshipper! :)

Disclaimer: Still own none of the characters, obviously - Mr. Takahashi does!

* * *

Exactly one week later, he returned from work to find the unwanted intruder in his mansion again. This time, he found the blond all by himself by letting his ears guide him to the kitchen, from which voices and clatter could be heard.

The entire island in the kitchen's center was covered in bowls and bags containing numerous ingredients. The normally perfectly clean, dark-tiled floor had been stained with patches of flour. Mokuba was perched on a chair that had been dragged over from the dining table, flour patches on his clothes and watching in awe as Katsuya prepared a pizza. It was remarkable: the blond was putting on quite the show, even having donned one of those goofy white chef hats. A broad smile graced his face as he spun a circle of rolled-out pizza dough. For a moment, it looked quite professional, but when Katsuya attempted to throw it in the air and catch it again, the dough refused to land on his finger and plopped onto the table instead, sending up clouds of flour. Both Katsuya and Mokuba burst out laughing as they waved their hands to clear away the white clouds. Behind them, sitting next to a heating oven, was a finished pizza with a rich variety of toppings.

Crossing his arms, Seto finally made himself noticed. "And what, pray tell, is going on here?"

Startled, Katsuya looked up with the expression of someone who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Mokuba, on the other hand, waved happily.

"Hi Seto! We're making pizza for dinner!"

"I can see that." Brilliantly blue eyes narrowed. "Mutt, have you already forgotten what I told you last week? Or is there really nothing between your ears to catch my words?"

Katsuya merely shrugged. "I don't remember you saying I can't hang out with your little bro. And when we got hungry, we decided to make pizza. Making it yourself beats the store-sold stuff every time, you know."

"Look at what you did to my kitchen!"

Katsuya looked around innocently. "What? A kitchen is here to be used. But this place looks like it's merely here for show – save for your used coffee mug, that is," he added with a wink.

Seto's gaze darted to the sink, where he had left the mug earlier today, and he saw that the item in question had already been washed. He pursed his lips at all the smart backtalk he was receiving from someone who shouldn't even **be** here, as far as he was concerned.

"What do you want on yours, Seto?" Mokuba asked brightly.

"What I want is for you to change before you get flour everywhere. I'm not hungry anyway."

"Nii-sama, I really think you should eat –" Mokuba began, but silenced when his brother shot him a warning glance. "It's for your own good," he continued quietly instead.

"You should know me well enough," the CEO said cryptically before addressing Katsuya: "This kitchen had better be spotless and dog-free when I come back for my coffee, or else."

"Just don't come for it too late, Rich Boy, or else you won't be able to sleep at night," Katsuya retorted.

"Whatever."

And with this, Seto left them, making a beeline for his study. In the kitchen, Mokuba sighed.

"Jou, pass me the peppers. I'm not letting him get away so easily."

"I take it dining together is a rare thing, huh?"

"Seeing nii-sama **eat** is a rare thing. He's a real minimalist like that."

Katsuya tapped his chin and hummed thoughtfully, not caring about the white spots his fingertip left behind. "You may have a point there… Hell, I don't remember ever seeing him eat. What does he like, anyway?"

Mokuba told him.

"And what's **your** favorite food, kiddo?"

This time, Mokuba told him with a grin.

"I see. Well then, let's get these pizzas ready and into the oven – and then we'll prepare the next course!" Katsuya declared, raising his finger in triumphant determination.

"You're the best, Jou!" Mokuba cheered.

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About an hour later, the door to Seto's study opened. Successfully distracted from his work, the brunet looked up to find Mokuba standing there, holding a tray.

"Nii-sama, I know you told me not to disturb you in your study, but I thought I'd bring you this. …It really **is** for your own good," the boy added as he crossed the room.

Merely raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Seto eyed the tray's contents: a plate with a generous slice of pizza, a cup of fresh coffee, and a small helping of –

Even as Seto's eyes narrowed in scrutiny, Mokuba proudly informed him that it was hand-made chocolate parfait.

"I know you're not into sweets all that much, but it's really good. Well, goodnight, Seto."

"…Thank you, Mokuba. Sleep well," Seto replied, returning the hug his brother bestowed upon him.

Much later, long after Mokuba had gone to bed, Seto brought the tray back to the kitchen, which was indeed flawlessly clean no matter how thoroughly he checked to see if there was still some leftover flour. It was hard to believe that the island had been so messy when he had last seen it, he mused as he stared at it. And Mokuba had been right: the parfait had been rather tasty.

Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a slight chance that Katsuya…

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The next Friday, Seto came home after a particularly grueling day at work, a day on which he had denied himself lunch, even if it would only have been the sparsest of salads. Therefore, for a change he was actually hungry, so he decided to check the fridge on the off chance that he might find something that would tickle his fancy – even if he didn't know what that might be.

This was a rare course of action for him because when he did go for the fridge, it was usually in the hopes of finding some pre-cooked food; quite frankly, he didn't like to cook, especially after a long day. However, typically the fridge only contained food ingredients or simple yogurt. But this time, something caught his eye: a Tupperware just big enough to hold one meal with a folded piece of paper taped to the lid. His name was inscribed on it. With his curiosity piqued, Seto examined the paper.

"_Hey Kaiba! Hope you'll like this! Mokuba told me it's your favorite. And before you ask: no, I didn't steal any of your money. I'm well-behaved, ya know? Do yourself a favor and dig in! Cheers, Jou :)__"_

For a moment, Seto stared at the smiley face the blond had drawn next to his signature. What on earth…? He briefly shook his head, then put aside the note and went for the Tupperware itself. When its lid was removed, he stared some more.

On the outside, the thing had looked like a Tupperware, but on the inside, it was neatly divided into separate parts like a lunch box. It contained a helping of potato gratin and… yes, it was indeed true. A good-sized chunk of meat, but not just any meat: beef fillet, his favorite kind of meat – hell, his favorite **food**! Complete with sauce and everything… but what kind? His glance darted back to the note, and only now did he notice the small arrow in the bottom corner. The flip-side of the paper contained but three lines:

_Potato gratin_

_Red wine sauce_

_Beef fillet_

Seto looked back at the dish. Making a pizza was one thing, but this? And why the hell did Katsuya care about his diet? Seto didn't get it, but he planned to ask Mokuba later. First, though, he had to find something out…

Minutes later, Seto sat at the kitchen's island, savoring the smell of this particular dinner. If it tasted as good as it smelled… And so the CEO sampled everything. To his genuine surprise, it was very tasty. It was the best dinner he had had in… well, quite a while. The meat was cooked to perfection, the spicing was excellent…

'_Maybe he isn't completely useless after all,'_ Seto thought.

Still; to think that the other duelist must have – if he really was telling the truth – gone out to buy this, the most expensive beef one could get, just to cook for him? It didn't make any sense to Seto, especially considering he didn't treat the blond favorably. Was he trying to trick him into owing him a favor of sorts? If so, he wasn't going to fall for it, he decided stubbornly.

"Nii-sama, you're home! Ah, you found the food… How was it?" the voice of Mokuba interrupted his thoughts. Seto looked up to see his younger sibling pull up a chair opposite of him. He was armed with his cell phone.

"Why did he do this?"

"He just thought you'd like something decent to eat for a change. You still didn't answer my question, though."

"Passable for a mutt," Seto commented.

Mokuba raised an eyebrow, but smirked when he noticed how the entire helping was gone, including the sauce. "If you say so, nii-sama…" Then his attention wandered back to his phone.

"What are you up to?"

"Asking Jou if he wants to hang out tomorrow."

"I sense a trend."

"You're welcome to come along."

"That's not what I meant."

"Suit yourself."

Seto watched his brother smile happily at the phone, which vibrated with an incoming message shortly thereafter. One could only presume that Katsuya had agreed, given that Mokuba's smile grew. Seto supposed it was good that his brother was happy, yet somehow, he wished that happiness would be directed at **him**. Then again, he **was** quite busy… maybe some other time…

"Hey," he said after a while as he watched his sibling's hands twitch while their fingers danced across the phone's virtual keyboard once more.

"Yes, Seto?"

"Ask Jounouchi when he wants this back." He nodded to the Tupperware.

"Sure thing, bro."

Katsuya had to be glued to his phone as much as Mokuba was, for the response was pretty prompt.

"Next time a Kaiba crosses my path. No hurry though," Mokuba forwarded the message.

Seto spread his hands – _'Fair enough.'_ – then deposited the Tupperware next to the sink. He checked his watch before turning back to the island.

"I've got thirty minutes. You call the shots, if you want," he said.

Mokuba looked up, incredulity written all over his face. "…Seriously?"

A mere inviting gesture was the only response his brother gave, but he needed nothing else. With a whoop, the raven-haired boy jumped off his chair and flung his arms around Seto's slender waist.

"Thank you so much, nii-sama! C'mon, let's go!" As his sibling's excitement kicked into overdrive, Seto allowed himself to get dragged to their gaming room with as much dignity as he could preserve.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As luck would have it, Seto found himself bringing the Tupperware along to school three days later. Then again, he wouldn't call it luck; he didn't buy Mokuba's claim to have forgotten it when he had next met up with Katsuya, especially since that had happened the very next day. Maybe his sibling thought that since the damn thing had contained **his** dinner, it ought to be **his** responsibility to return it and face Katsuya.

It would be quite fitting for the at times very devious younger Kaiba.

"I believe this is yours," he said neutrally, depositing the container onto Katsuya's desk during one of their breaks.

"First-class delivery, eh?" Katsuya asked cheekily. "Mokuba said you actually ate it all."

Seto narrowed his eyes. "I don't owe you anything."

"I never said you did. Just stating a fact, that's all."

"Why did you do that?"

Katsuya shrugged as he pretended to check if it really was clean. "Does it matter?"

"Yes. If my assumptions about your budget are even remotely accurate, I'd say it does matter."

"I just felt like it. If you want, I'll do it again," the blond offered.

"And I would want that because…?"

"I dunno… maybe you liked it," Katsuya suggested with another shrug.

Oh, he had, though Seto didn't feel like admitting that vocally. He didn't know why, though. Instead, he just spread one of his hands, and his shoulders moved with the slightest of shrugs. He could only conclude that Katsuya had interpreted this gesture correctly, if that grin and those slightly raised blond eyebrows were anything to go by.

"Alrighty then. Well, thanks for bringing the container back. Later, Kaiba," Katsuya told him with a mock salute and a wink before leaving to join his friends, where Hiroto teased him about nearly getting frostbite.

Seto watched the group share a laugh at this, then shook his head and proceeded to engage in his typical break activity of being alone and reading a book. It was a rare occasion that he and Katsuya had parted ways without exchanging snide comments or worse, and while Seto certainly at times rather enjoyed pushing the other teen's buttons, he didn't mind this outcome at all either.

As for Katsuya, he would go on to continue putting occasional helpings of his cooking aside for Seto, though this marked the only time he received the container back from the elder Kaiba himself. But it didn't matter to him; he liked to cook and do nice things for people, and in Seto's case, it helped to hear Mokuba repeatedly assure him that nothing of these separate helpings ever went to waste.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the evening of Easter Monday, Mokuba paused for a moment after finishing his preparations for bedtime. He didn't really see his reflection in the mirror as he let his thoughts wander.

The mansion had been all his since Thursday, and it was one of those times when the place felt awfully big and lonely. Sure, he had met up with Katsuya and the others on Saturday and spent a fun-filled day at another passing-through carnival, but aside from that, he had been all alone. A serious cyber-attack had been launched on KaibaCorp.'s systems on Thursday, and Seto had flat-out stayed at the office since then, working around the clock to terminate the attack, assess damage control and recover data wherever possible. Mokuba knew how important this was, and thus he had stayed out of his brother's way even though he really missed him. Other people enjoyed a delicious brunch together on Sunday, or perhaps there was a hunt for Easter eggs in the garden… things like that, at the very least a pleasant get-together. But not for Mokuba. He had received a basket of goodies from Katsuya and his friends, but at the end of the day, he just really wanted Seto to come home again.

Perhaps he would watch some cartoons before going to bed, he thought; after all, if Seto wasn't here to supervise his bedtime, who said he should stick to it? They were in the middle of spring vacation, after all…

The raven-haired boy sighed heavily, then turned off the light and left the bathroom adjoining his bedroom – only to discover that his bed was no longer unoccupied.

"…Seto?!"

"Good evening, Mokuba."

Yes, Seto was sitting there on his younger brother's bed. His briefcase was absent, but he still wore his purple trench coat. Exhaustion was evident in the young CEO's face, but a smile tugged at his lips when he saw Mokuba.

"Seto! You're back!" Mokuba cheered and dashed across the room to fling himself into the elder's arms. Seto caught him and didn't resist when the force of impact knocked him back onto the mattress. A soft chuckle escaped his lips while Mokuba laughed joyously and squeezed him tightly.

Only when his sibling's grip loosened up somewhat as the strong initial rush of joy subsided did Seto push himself up into a sitting position again, though still keeping one arm around the smaller body. Mokuba's contagious happiness made a small but real smile dawn on his handsome face.

"Everything's alright again, right, nii-sama?"

"Yes. But I'm not here to talk about work. How are you?"

"Better now," Mokuba answered quietly.

"I'm sorry, Mokuba, but –" his brother began, but the boy interrupted him:

"No; I understand, Seto. I'm just glad you could finally come home again." Another hug.

Seto hummed softly and contently in agreement. "And what have you been up to in the meantime? I presume you've been out, haven't you?"

"Yeah!" Mokuba briefly left his side to collect his cell phone. "I met Jou and his friends on Saturday. Look, here we are at the carnival! I wish you could have been there too…!" And he was off, rambling as he recalled all the fun they had had. He guessed Seto might only be listening with one ear, but didn't mind because this was how it always worked in these situations: it was how Seto unwound and settled back down into the peace of his home when he did choose to put his work aside (even if only for a little while).

Meanwhile, the brunet was sifting through the surprisingly extensive photo coverage of that day out.

Anzu was flashing the victory sign at the camera, a laser-gun in her other hand while behind her, rows of ducks in a shooting stand continued to go round and round.

There was one each of Katsuya and Hiroto as they competed at a high striker to see who could bring down a mallet and ring the bell – by the looks of it, Katsuya won, as Hiroto was later seen to be declaring him the winner, resembling a referee in a boxing match.

Ryou was sharing a very large blue-white cotton candy with Mokuba.

On an old-fashioned merry-go-round, Yami and Yugi were the ringleaders on horseback – but while they were content with enjoying the ride as it was, behind them, Katsuya and Hiroto appeared to be miming cowboys.

The next few shots were badly blurred, as some of them had gone on a rollercoaster which Seto would not have allowed Mokuba to ride (the CEO's brow furrowed slightly when he believed to recognize his brother in the corner of one photo that had tried to capture the ride as it sped by).

Perhaps he had only joined the group later, but in any case, Bakura entered the scene too, bear-hugging his lighter half whilst displaying his psychotic grin before apparently trying to hitch a ride on Katsuya's back – and later appearing to quite enjoy the bumper cars as he terrorized the other drivers.

The final batch of photos had been taken when the sun had set and the rides' neon lights had lit up the carnival grounds. Apparently there had also been a ride wherein two people got into a boat that could swing higher and higher – this, too, looked very unsafe to Seto. Mokuba had obviously had no such qualms, as he could be seen in a boat with Katsuya, nearly swinging up to the ceiling. Next to them, Bakura and Hiroto had accomplished exactly that – with the ride's spotlight illuminating his madly cackling face, the albino looked like something straight out of a horror story. The last two photos belonged in what could be considered the gallery's sub-collection of pictures featuring Mokuba and Katsuya: in one, they both simply grinned at the camera, and in the other, they made a silly face.

"Looks like you were out late, little brother," Seto remarked when he had reached the gallery's end.

"Don't worry; they took me home, Seto," Mokuba said. Indeed, the gang had done just that before going out a little longer.

His sibling hummed again in acknowledgment before continuing thoughtfully: "I've been meaning to talk to you about this."

Looking apprehensive, Mokuba reclaimed his phone. "About what?"

"These constant meet-ups with the mutt – and inevitably, his friends as well."

"What about them?"

"I can't deny that I am concerned; as you hopefully remember too, one of them is a deranged psycho," Seto explained, then paused before adding: "Two, actually; fortunately, that other loon is absent…"

"That reminds me: Bakura said Malik and Marik are coming back in the summer," Mokuba interjected, recalling how excited the former spirit had been upon announcing the news.

Seto frowned. "All the more reason for you to avoid them."

"But I've never been in any danger around them!" Mokuba protested.

"Yet."

"Seto…"

"Mokuba, don't you see? Where Jounouchi goes, they go. Then it's just a matter of time before dangerous and age-inappropriate activities take place – none of which I want you to be subjected to." Noticing that he wasn't quite getting through to his brother, Seto sighed. "Why do you choose **them** over more favorable and normal company? Friends from school, for instance?"

Mokuba bowed his head and looked away. Seto waited patiently for a response, but when none came even after a while, he lightly put a hand on the younger one's shoulder in silent inquiry.

Finally, an answer was given. "You don't understand, nii-sama… I don't really have any friends at school. And I don't want them, either, when sooner or later, I am just 'the rich little brother of the rich Seto Kaiba', only good for some exclusive favors. Jou and the others, though… I really think they like me for who I am… as a person, you know. I mean, you do, too, but we don't get together so often anymore," the boy finished on a quieter and definitely more rueful note.

"We've been through this, Mokuba. I promised us a better future, and even when one has achieved such a goal, continuous work is required to maintain that state," Seto pointed out.

"I know… but I still miss you. I miss you a lot," Mokuba whispered.

"I'm always just a phone call away at most," Seto reminded him, briefly squeezing his shoulder.

Mokuba shrugged listlessly. "Still… I miss the Seto who liked to play chess with me… the one who used to laugh and smile."

"Mokuba…" Seto sighed heavily.

"Please, Seto… I know you don't like me hanging out with Jou and his friends, but it really makes me happy. Happy like… before this distance between us came up. That's why I wish you'd accept our friendship. Please," Mokuba repeated, finally meeting his brother's gaze again.

"I'm sorry, Mokuba," Seto said, gently pulling him closer for an embrace.

"But Jou –" the younger Kaiba began.

"That's not what I meant," Seto soothed his dawning worries, "I'm sorry you miss me. Sometimes I miss you too, you know."

"Seto…!" With what was almost a whine, Mokuba hugged him fiercely, burying his face in the other's black shirt.

Seto held him, occasionally giving his back a comforting rub. It was just a small gesture, but it meant a lot to Mokuba, especially since it had been a while since they had last sat so closely together. Eventually, the brunet murmured:

"I think it's time for bed now."

"Promise me you'll go to bed too. You look tired," Mokuba commented as he withdrew from the confinement of his brother's arms.

"Promise," Seto assured him as he rose from the bed.

Mokuba settled down into his pillow, and when Seto reached down to turn off the bedside lamp, he grabbed the elder's arm. "Seto?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you." And again for the first time in a long while, he briefly kissed the other's cheek.

Seto blinked, momentarily looking to be at a loss, but then he recovered and returned the affectionate gesture. "I love you too. Goodnight, Mokuba."

"Goodnight, nii-sama."

After a fond and minute ruffle of his brother's black hair, Seto departed for his own bed. But despite his exhaustion, sleep took its sweet time claiming him because he couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he had just had. It seemed Mokuba was much lonelier than he would have guessed… so of course he would be drawn to Katsuya and his friends, who as Seto knew all too well (actually understanding was a different story, though) took this whole "true friendship" business very seriously. If it really made him happy, then… despite those two lunatics who happened to have joined that perky little group…

At long last, his mind reached a conclusion, and only then did it allow itself to shut down enough so Seto could actually fall asleep. And sleep he did – for nine hours straight instead of his standard five and a half to six.

* * *

Feel free to fav/follow/review, if you want! :) And have a nice day!

Next time: the bet is made!


	3. Chapter 3

Well, here it is: the bet that puts things in motion!

Please note that this is a longer chapter than usual; it was either this or one that was half as long as the other ones. There's a good chance the next one will be shorter, but in this case, I decided to settle on one of this length (it was a tough decision)...

I hope you'll like it!

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi, not me.

* * *

After his talk with Mokuba, Seto desisted from actively objecting to his brother's frequent meet-ups with Katsuya. He still didn't necessarily like it, per se, but in the end, he decided he would rather see his brother happy than suffer from the commitment to his work and the lack of a desired friendship. Nonetheless, he kept his contact with the other duelist at a minimum, usually spending just one or two moments in his presence – whilst focusing on Mokuba, of course – before going back to work. He wasn't sure how often the blond actually came to their home; all he cared about was that the other didn't bother him or get any ideas about being able to come and go as he pleased.

Katsuya didn't get such ideas, and Seto was glad for that. For weeks, they lived their lives outside of school as a series of fleeting co-existential moments, and it worked fine for them.

Then, one day in late July, Seto found himself back in school for a full day again. His presence had been specially required today, but this was no surprise: it was their final day of school before the summer vacation. Six weeks of freedom lay ahead of them, though they would be assigned plenty of homework for that time period – for Seto, not much would change, except that there would be even more work to do. He went along with this, though of course he preferred his actual work, as it was his life's purpose and the source of his prosperity.

Currently, it was their history teacher's turn for project assignment. But not just any project: a group project. Groups of two. Not caring a lick about his peers' plight or fortune, the brunet expertly tuned out the teacher as she divided the class into pairs until she called his name:

"…Jounouchi Katsuya and Kaiba Seto…"

He blinked; did that woman really just pair him up with the mutt? It couldn't be… He cast a sidelong glance at Katsuya, who sat three desks away. The blond was mouthing obscenities, obviously not terribly thrilled with this outcome either.

'_Good; that makes two of us…'_

After class, Seto did what he usually did: make others come to him by not making the first move. Katsuya stalled for a bit longer as he made lunch arrangements with his friends, but when no one else was left in the room save for the CEO, he shuffled over.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot, eh, Moneybags?" he asked, hands stuffed into his uniform pockets.

"Some jackpot!" Seto huffed, "I'll have you know that I expect a straight A from this, or you're toast."

"Where do you get off, being a jerk like that? We haven't even started the damn thing yet!" Katsuya exclaimed indignantly.

"Spare me your whining. Now, here's how this works: tomorrow I want to see a makeshift table of contents, a detailed roster handling both the research schedule and the due date for the researched material –"

"Whoa, whoa, hold the goddamn phone for a moment!" Katsuya interrupted, "You expect **me** to do all of that by tomorrow?! No fair! We're supposed to be partners!"

Seto narrowed his eyes; he hated getting interrupted. "Your feeble brain must have already forgotten that I also happen to run a company. I have less time for these petty assignments than you might think."

"**I** think you're being lazy. You just want me to do all the work!" Katsuya protested, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Look at you, pretending like you know everything when you know nothing!" The last word was spoken with particular venom. "You wouldn't last a week with my workload!"

"Oh yeah? Just **one** lousy week? If that's all you've got... I bet I would!"

"The dog barks, but has no bite to back it up," Seto smirked.

"Take that back, you bastard!" Snarling, Katsuya lunged at him, grabbing the collar of Seto's white uniform.

Seto didn't even flinch. In fact, his smirk only widened, and his blue eyes gleamed as they usually did at this point when they fought with each other. It got such a kick out of him – how could anyone expect him to pass up such golden opportunities?

"So, one week does not impress you? Fine, then prove to me you're not just full of hot air. This project is due in six weeks. Until then, you will get more than just a taste of my schedule, plus I expect a perfect grade on this assignment. And don't forget the other subjects, either. How about it?"

"You're on, Moneybags! Piece of cake!" Katsuya declared confidently. His face was taking up the CEO's entire field of vision, and his blazing hazel eyes bore straight into the other male's blue ones.

"I will work you like a dog," Seto promised, his voice dropping but sounding no less imposing.

"Then I'll work like an ox! You can't break me, Kaiba," Katsuya hissed back.

"Oh, I think I will. But don't worry; I'll make sure you get a doghouse you can lick your wounds in, if your strength allows it."

"That does it! Fuck you, Kaiba!" Katsuya yelled and drew back one fist with the full intent of wiping that arrogant smirk away with a bull's-eye of a punch.

However, Seto's reflexes were not to be underestimated. Had Katsuya chosen to uppercut him instead, he might not have been so lucky, but this time, he had enough time to raise one hand and catch the other's fist before it could smash into his jaw. After a short struggle, Katsuya finally backed down, looking very irritated.

"I really hate you sometimes," he muttered sullenly.

"Rest assured, the feeling is mutual," Seto informed him, "Now pay attention: after school, you are to gather everything you need and report to my mansion no later than by nightfall, understand?"

Katsuya goggled at him. "Wait, I'm supposed to crash at your place?!"

"I won't subject my employees to the tiring task of fetching you every morning, since you would surely fail to comply on your own. You will get up according to **my** schedule, and don't you dare be late."

"Sheesh, you sound like a slave driver, you know?" Katsuya sighed. "At least **someone** will be happy to see me," he said mostly to himself, deciding to focus on the silver lining that would certainly be Mokuba.

Seto instantly caught on to this. "This is no field trip, mutt, and I'll make sure that Mokuba understands that too. I advise you to think of something extraordinary for me, should you mess this whole thing up. That includes your duties at KaibaCorp. too, for your information," he said before heading for the door.

"Wait just a minute, Kaiba! What do **I** get if I prove you wrong?" Katsuya demanded.

Seto paused in the doorway. He did little more than acknowledge the question before answering: "I'll think of something."

Then he was gone. Katsuya waited a moment longer before rolling his eyes and sighing. What had he gotten himself into…? As he thought it over again, he figured it really didn't sound very appealing – but he couldn't back down now! If he did, he could kiss any chances of Seto ever taking him seriously goodbye for good! And although it seemed far away, far down what surely was a long and rocky road with less vacation than ever, the prospect of proving Seto wrong was most desirable. Katsuya balled his hands to fists and shot a determined look at the now empty doorway.

'_Just you wait, Kaiba. I'm gonna show you what I'm made of!'_

Having made his resolution, he too left the classroom and wandered off in search of his friends.

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"Honda, are you actually going to eat it, or did you just get this pizza for decoration?" Anzu asked thirty minutes into their lunch break.

"Gimme another minute…"

"What are you doing, anyway?" Yugi inquired, trying to sneak a peek at his friend's mobile phone.

"I'm trying to look up a phone number; we need a squad of guys in white coats, stat." Brown eyes remained intently focused on the phone's screen as the device struggled to retrieve the desired information despite the school's abysmal reception.

"Oh come on, I'm **not** crazy!" Katsuya interjected exasperatedly.

"Yes you are," Hiroto shot back instantly, "There's no way you're the real Jou. The Jou I know does not sacrifice his summer break to become a friggin' slave!"

"Did someone say slave?" a new voice asked interestedly, and the group was briefly distracted by the arrival of Bakura, who dropped a plastic bag in front of Ryou.

"Ooh, you remembered! Thank you, Bakura!" Ryou said happily after peering into the bag, which contained a lunch box.

"Sheesh; forget the damn thing **once** and you never live it down…" Bakura grumbled as he grabbed a nearby chair without asking. He was slightly appeased when Ryou just laughed softly and kissed his cheek. "So, you're gonna be somebody's slave, Blondie? Finally, something interesting… Who's got the honor?" he asked with a wicked grin.

"Kaiba," Hiroto answered instead before finally helping himself to his pizza. He never noticed that it was one piece of salami short since Bakura's arrival.

"The Priest?!" Bakura repeated with a whistle. "Nice catch! When do you start?"

"Tomorrow. His Majesty wants me to be at his place tonight already, though," Katsuya answered dryly. Then he glanced across the cafeteria at one of the smaller tables, where Seto sat alone with his usual weapon of choice to brave the lunch break: a book. Their eyes met, and the brunet smirked before mouthing a single word.

"_Woof."_

Katsuya scowled and went for his Coke instead, as he had previously just scarfed down another slice of pizza.

Bakura's brown eyes briefly darted in the direction Katsuya's scowl had been aimed at, and he raised a white eyebrow with a devious grin before reaching into one of his jeans' back pockets.

"Well then, count your lucky stars you've got **me** as a friend, otherwise you'd show up empty-handed," he said. Then he fancily presented an offering to the blond.

"…The hell?" Katsuya muttered skeptically, his drink's straw still between his teeth as one eyebrow shot up. His friends were stunned into a shocked silence.

Bakura blinked. "What do you mean, 'the hell'? What kind of sex slave **doesn't** have handcuffs?"

Katsuya's hazel eyes widened, and he choked on his drink, some of it even squirting out of his nose as he dissolved into a coughing fit.

Some other students turned their heads at the sudden commotion – including a certain teenage CEO. He watched Anzu cover her eyes with a loud sigh while Hiroto gave a first-class impression of a goldfish. Yugi's cheeks had turned a brilliant shade of pink, and he fiddled awkwardly with his Puzzle. Ryou, on the other hand, had turned beet-red and was trying to snag the item in question from his yami's hand: a pair of real handcuffs. Pristine quality, stolen from a police patrol. A brown eyebrow was arched.

"For God's sake, Bakura, everyone's looking!" Ryou moaned embarrassedly.

"What? What?" his counterpart asked defensively, lazily holding the handcuffs out of Ryou's reach – and high enough for everyone to see. "Handcuffs are hot!"

Anzu rolled her eyes. Katsuya was still gasping like a beached fish, visibly struggling to regain enough composure to actually speak. Yugi fidgeted in his seat and decided to do him a favor by voicing the unspoken response – albeit perhaps less colorfully.

"Um, Bakura, I think you got the wrong idea. Jou… Jou's not Kaiba's sex slave," he informed the thief, blushing as if he couldn't believe he just said that.

"He isn't?" Bakura sounded and even **looked** disappointed.

"It's for a goddamned history project!" Katsuya burst out, having finally caught his breath.

"Go on…"

The blond shrugged, mildly irritated that their evil friend certainly expected something outrageous instead of such a trivial premise. "Look, all I did was make a bet that we could get an A while I'd also keep up with him and his stupid workload, so he's gonna drag me to work and stuff because he thinks he can break me. Now put those away before he sees!"

Bakura never got around to asking why that would be a problem, however, for someone else opted to speak up: "Too late."

Mortified, Katsuya looked up, only to discover that Seto had chosen to take a closer look at the cause of this particular commotion.

"Shit…"

"Well, speak of the devil! You like your summers hot, don't you, Priest?"

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, Blondie told us all about it! Sounds like you'll be pretty… **close**. And you could be even closer, if you want," Bakura added with fake innocence, jiggling the handcuffs a little.

"You and your sick, twisted mind never fail to disgust me," Seto informed him, his lips curling to mirror his words.

Bakura bared his teeth at him in a wide and very scary smile. "Why, thank you."

Seto harrumphed and turned to Katsuya instead. "You choose the strangest people to hang out with, Jounouchi."

"You're hardly one to judge, considering you don't hang out with anybody," Katsuya shot back.

"Really, now? Please… I could be blind and deaf and still be able to make out a highly questionable individual –" Here, his gaze flickered to Bakura, who merely waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "– whereas you do not seem to be able to distinguish between favorable and hazardous company even with all your senses at hand. Which comes as no real surprise, of course…"

"Fuck you!" Katsuya snapped.

"Language, mutt," Seto scolded, narrowing his eyes, though his distinctive arrogant smirk played on his lips. It grew when Katsuya growled, half-rose from his chair and grabbed the white uniform. Like back in the classroom, Seto let it happen, even allowing himself to be yanked toward the other teen – only as much as he allowed it, of course. He didn't know exactly what it was about situations like these, but despite how much Katsuya really annoyed him at times, he secretly figured that these might just be among the few high school memories he'd actually bother to look back on.

Neither of them noticed how Bakura's eyes wandered back and forth between them, as if he were watching a fascinating game of tennis. The others watched the scene with bated breath, and the students closest to them quietly placed bets on whether or not this would result in a fight. It wouldn't be the first time.

But not today.

"Our bet?" Seto simply asked in a low voice.

"You're still on. Sorry to crush your hopes, Rich Boy," Katsuya replied determinedly.

"So be it. You know where you need to be. Oh, and a word of advice: leave those out of the equation." He nodded at the handcuffs.

"Me, coming to you with handcuffs? Don't worry; does **not** compute."

"Good. Now get your hands off me."

Katsuya snorted, but complied, albeit none too gently. Seto straightened, then loftily dusted himself off before leaving them. From around their table, indistinguishable murmurs arose as people paid up to their gleeful peers.

"God, he's such an ass!" Hiroto exclaimed, "Jou, are you **sure** you wanna do this?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna prove Kaiba wrong, if it's the last thing I do!"

"Good point; after all, you might actually kill each other." His best friend sighed. "What a waste of a summer break…"

"Oh, come on; Kaiba's not **that** bad," Yugi interjected. Hiroto shot him a skeptical look in response.

"Take it easy, guys; if he really wants an A, he'll let me live," Katsuya replied with a shrug. "Besides, I'd never go down without a fight."

"Cheer up, Honda!" Anzu said brightly, putting her hand on Hiroto's shoulder. "We can still have fun! You'll see."

He looked relieved. "Like a birthday party?"

The brunette beamed and nodded. She threw a birthday party every year, and they tended to be a highlight in their summer break.

Meanwhile, Bakura snickered as he pocketed the handcuffs again, ignoring how Ryou glanced at him warily (because really, a snickering Bakura could only mean trouble somewhere along the line). As far as the thief was concerned, this could definitely be a summer full of possibilities for some of them… He ran his fingers over the handcuffs' chain in what was almost a caress and decided that perhaps he should keep them handy. If not for himself and Ryou, then perhaps for two teens who, with any luck, would be in for a very hot summer indeed.

Just in case.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he reached the mansion's front gates that evening, Katsuya paused and gazed at the building for a moment before heaving a sigh. Once again, he wondered what he was getting himself into. Six weeks… six weeks in which he wouldn't only have to juggle finishing the history assignment and keep up with all the other schoolwork, but also slave away for Seto (he was sure he could expect no mercy from the brunet) and pray they didn't kill each other somewhere down the road – he was fairly sure that death resulted in an F.

'_Best get it over with. And don't let that damn bastard get to you so much!'_ he thought to himself, puffing himself up somewhat as he gathered his belongings. Then he announced his arrival via intercom.

After a brief buzz of static, a familiar voice greeted him.

"Jou, is that you?"

The blond grinned. "You bet!"

Mokuba cheered. "Yay! C'mon in!"

As the intercom went dead, the gates opened, and Katsuya entered the grounds. It felt strange even though he had taken this path several times before – he blamed it on the fact that he was carrying most of his belongings with him, as if he were moving in. Well, at least he had been greeted by Mokuba… the insults would be upon him soon enough, he certainly didn't mind waiting on them a little longer.

The door opened before he had even reached the stairs, revealing KaibaCorp.'s beaming vice president.

"Hi Jou! Want me to help with your stuff?"

"Hey there, sport! Nah, it's cool; it isn't much, after all," he replied with a sheepish grin.

Mokuba's face fell a bit when he spotted a cut on Katsuya's left cheek. "What happened to your face?"

"Oh, this?" Katsuya frowned as he tried to glance down at the cut. "Let's just say Dad's not a big fan of this plan."

"Your **dad** did that to you?!" When the older teen just shrugged, avoiding eye-contact, the youngster got the message. "Sorry… um… I'll show you your room now, how about that?"

Katsuya looked relieved. "Sounds good. At least now I can be sure I won't be setting up camp in an actual doghouse."

Mokuba laughed as they went up the stairs. "There's no way I'd let Seto do that to you, Jou!"

"You have no idea how glad I am you're on my side."

Upstairs, Mokuba led him down a corridor, and already Katsuya was feeling blown away when he tried to wrap his head around how much space they had to live in, whereas he and his father… He was surprised to discover that his room was apparently located right next to Mokuba's, which in turn was next to the door at the corridor's end – the one that belonged to Seto. His jaw dropped when he laid eyes on his new sleeping quarters for the summer break.

"Holy…!" he exclaimed softly.

"I guess you like it, huh?" Mokuba concluded with a grin.

"Are you kidding? I feel like I'm in a five-star hotel! I mean, shit, this bed is bigger than me and my Dad's put together!"

"That reminds me… you start unpacking, I'll be right back!" And with that, the raven-haired boy dashed off.

Katsuya shrugged, then emptied the contents of his bags and backpack onto the bed. True to his word, Mokuba soon returned – with a bandage for his cheek. This earned him a warm hug from Katsuya, who was quite touched by the young one's concern. After that came the process of sorting out his belongings. This didn't take long and filled up preciously little space of what the room had to offer, and at one point, Katsuya briefly paused, actually feeling somewhat lost and even downright out of place. And he wondered what it had to be like for Mokuba, who as he knew often yearned for his brother's leisurely company, but was denied it all too often. He supposed he'd feel ridiculously lonely in such a big-ass house with no one to have fun with…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The setting sun cast a warm orange light into the room when Seto Kaiba appeared in the doorway. He paused to survey the scene: two bags and a backpack unceremoniously dumped in a heap at one of his beds, the cheap mp3-player that lay discarded at the foot of the bed, and then his classmate who was sprawled at the other end (_'Probably got into a street fight with other mutts,'_ Seto silently reasoned when he spotted the bandage.), fiddling with his cell phone. There were few signs otherwise that the room was inhabited by someone.

"So, you really did come," he announced his presence.

"Like I'd change my mind on such short notice," Katsuya retorted, "What do you want?"

"Your clothes. Show them to me."

Stumped, Katsuya sat up and spread his arms as if he were offering the mother of all hugs. "Um… there. Happy?"

Seto rolled his eyes and sauntered over to the wardrobe. "Stupid mutt…"

"What the… Hey, what gives?! Yo, didn't anyone ever tell you it's impolite to look through other people's stuff?" Katsuya exclaimed, scrambling off the bed when the CEO yanked open the doors.

"It's hardly my fault if you're so slow on the uptake. Is this all you have?" Seto asked, sounding displeased.

Katsuya ambled over and crossed his arms. "What's it to you?" he asked.

"You will not show up in my company dressed like a street urchin."

"Excuse me?! I didn't know you require people to play dress-up just to get you your damn coffee!"

"You're severely underestimating this if you think that's all you'll be doing. Don't you have anything better than your school uniform?"

Katsuya just snorted angrily and looked away, not bothering with an answer. Seto narrowed his eyes at this.

"That does it. You're coming with me, mutt."

"Where to?"

But Seto said nothing in response as he left at a brisk pace, leaving Katsuya to wonder what the hell the rush was. Still, deciding it would be unwise to just stay behind and risk them bashing their heads in already, he quickly followed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"No. No way. Uh-uh."

"Jounouchi, don't be so childish. Put it on."

"Fuck no! It's 30 degrees outside! I'll melt!"

"You're not a snowman, you idiot."

"Yeah, but… hey, the Wicked Witch of the West melted too! Remember? I'm melting, I'm melting, oh what a world…!"

"Quit stalling and put it on!"

"Over my dead body!"

Seto growled dangerously. "That can be arranged, you ungrateful mutt. Now get moving or I'll–"

"I'm **not** wearing one of your candy-ass monkey suits, Kaiba!" Katsuya said loudly and insistently.

"This suit," Seto said slowly and pointedly, "is made of extremely high-quality material. I'm sure you have never worn anything like it in your whole miserable life, so you should be honored that I'm doing this for you."

"You wish, pal. I prefer casual clothes, in case you haven't noticed."

"If you don't cooperate, I'll help you along!"

Katsuya actually laughed. "What, like strip me? You wouldn't!" He paused, then added: "…Would you?"

"Try me if you dare," Seto threatened him, advancing one step.

Katsuya retreated in time with this. By now, he could tell that his classmate's patience had just about run out. _'Remember, we shouldn't kill each other on the first day! Oh hell, it's not even the first day yet! Damn you, Kaiba!'_ His mind wasn't helping; still, it reminded him of what was important.

Looking as if he would rather be anywhere else but here, he held out one hand. "Alright, fine. But I'm only doing this so Mokuba doesn't have to see no carnage."

"Good boy," Seto sneered, and there was no doubt that if this hadn't been about something expensive, he would have handed over the object in question with far less care.

"Bastard!" Katsuya shot back and glared at him. "Turn around, will ya?"

"Don't worry; I intend to preserve my eyesight for years to come." With this, Seto turned around in one fluid movement, smirking when he heard his peer growl at him. For a moment, the only sounds in the room were those of rustling clothes and one or the other soft mutter or curse from Katsuya.

"Are you quite finished?" Seto asked after what he deemed more than enough time.

"Don't rush me, you pushy ass!"

"Temper, temper; I might cut even you some slack if this were elaborate bondage gear instead…"

"You mean like what **you** wear, with all those belts and junk?"

This time it was Seto who growled, and it didn't help that Katsuya chuckled gleefully.

A moment later: "All right already, I'm done."

"Finally…" Seto turned around again and eyed the other teen with cold scrutiny. Katsuya stood there somewhat awkwardly, obviously unhappy with what he was wearing. The way he frowned – hell, almost **pouted**, Seto thought with hidden amusement – one might have guessed that he had been forced to wear a silly costume instead of a smart business suit.

"Something's missing," the teenage CEO finally said, retreating to his closet.

"Like what?" Katsuya asked, looking himself over. When he looked up, his expression turned into that of a man facing the gallows. "Oh **hell** no!"

"Hell **yes**. The look wouldn't be complete without it." Looking as smug and arrogant as ever, Seto had taken a tie from the rack within his closet and presented it to Katsuya. Inwardly, he was laughing at the other duelist's obvious discomfort at this prospect. When he began to advance on him, Katsuya retreated whilst always keeping his eyes trained on the tie as if it were a weapon. Not paying attention to where he was going, he came to a halt with a soft noise of surprise when the backs of his knees hit Seto's bed.

"For the love of Duel Monsters, Jounouchi, it's just a tie. You're being ridiculous."

"Says you! How the hell do I know you won't kill me with that thing?"

"Please… Killing you would mean letting you get out of this bet easily, which I have no intention of doing. Now, the choice is yours: you can comply and make this easier for both of us, or…" Seto paused, and he smirked maliciously, "I could alter the deal a bit by getting you a nice dog collar and making you the company's temporary mascot instead."

Katsuya turned an interesting shade of red at the mention of the deal's possible alteration. "Screw you, Kaiba, I'm not a dog! Fine, I'll wear the damn tie! Gimme that…!" He snatched the offered tie, but only draped it around his neck before fumbling awkwardly with the ends.

"You've never done this before, have you?" Seto's voice interrupted him.

Katsuya avoided eye-contact. "…Not really…"

"In fact, you've probably never even worn a tie before," Seto presumed as he stepped up to Katsuya.

"Once. Dad's idea," the other muttered curtly, continuing to stare at the floor as if his life depended on it.

Seto sighed exasperatedly. "You're so hopeless… Alright, hold still. Squirm and I **will** strangle you."

Katsuya tensed and closed his eyes tightly, his lips pursed in almost nervous anticipation. Unseen by him, Seto rolled his eyes, then swiftly began to tie the tie. It was something he could do in his sleep by now. He quirked an eyebrow when he noticed how Katsuya shuddered slightly whenever his fingers made contact with the skin of his neck, but did not comment on this observation. When he was done, he took a few steps back to scrutinize his handiwork. Katsuya opened one eye and peeked at him.

"I suppose this will do," Seto finally said. "You will wear this tomorrow, understand? We leave at 7 AM and no later."

"What, 7 AM?! On a **Saturday**?!" Katsuya protested, looking horrified.

"I told you you'd get a taste of my schedule, did I not? By the way: if you damage any of those clothes, **you're** replacing them. Dismissed," Seto told him with a curt wave of his hand.

Katsuya gawked at him for another moment, but when he sensed that any protest was futile, he quickly grabbed his normal clothes and stomped out of the room, trying and failing to restrain a tirade of insults and complaints in the process. Seto waited until he heard the door to the other's room slam shut before he swept off in search of Isono to prepare for the next morning.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening, when it was time for him to go to bed, Mokuba made a little detour to visit Katsuya. He found his friend lounging on the bed, playing a game on his cell phone. The mp3-player at the foot end of the bed was gone and had been replaced by a hastily discarded business attire.

"Looks like nii-sama really **is** serious," the boy commented.

"Hey there, Mokuba. Yeah, that's Moneybags for ya. I feel like such a stiff wearing that thing, especially the tie." He shot that particular garment a hateful glare.

"He would kill you if he saw this." Intent on sparing Katsuya of any late-night trouble with his older brother, Mokuba carefully draped the suit over the spare chair in the room, smoothing it out in the process. It was a handsome dark grey piece of clothing that had been paired with a dark blue tie. The younger teen recognized both items. "Looks like he found a use for these after all… I'm surprised he didn't throw them away."

"Huh?" Katsuya asked.

Mokuba joined him as he sat tailor-fashion on the bed. "It's been at least three years since I last saw them; I suppose they're among the oldest clothes Seto owns."

He didn't tell Katsuya this, but he suspected that Seto might throw them away when this summer break was over, as the CEO tended to strongly dislike the idea of other people wearing his clothes. And God knew buying a new suit, top-quality or not, was a piece of cake for him.

"I really wish he'd have done without the tie," Katsuya said sullenly.

"Why? It's just a tie; I have to wear them too, sometimes."

Katsuya hesitated, as if unsure how he should answer, then finally said: "They just make me feel like I'm making it much easier for someone to strangle me. See, a while ago, I needed a breather from home, so I didn't come back for three days… and when I did, Dad… well, he was really mad. So mad he decided to think of another use for the one tie he had left."

Mokuba's eyes widened in understanding. "No way!"

"Yes way. That's why I really don't like ties. When your bro put it on me… I'm not gonna lie, I braced myself for the worst. If he had tightened it too much…" _'I'm not sure what I would have done, but it wouldn't have been pretty,'_ he finished in his thoughts. When Seto's fingers had touched his skin, he had remembered one of his father's hands closing around his throat while the other pulled roughly at the tie, cutting off his air supply… He hoped the CEO hadn't noticed the shudder he had been unable to completely repress, but he supposed he hadn't, as no comment had been made.

"Jou…"

"He said he'd strangle me if I squirmed, but I figured I'd rather take that risk than wearing a stupid dog collar. The day I'd give him **that** satisfaction is the day Bakura turns nice," the blond continued. As he talked about this, he noticed how it had been eating him all evening long, and he was starting to feel a bit better by getting it out of his system – in the company of a friend, no less.

"Did you tell Seto about this?" Mokuba asked.

"No. I doubt he'd listen, and any weakness of mine means more power for him. Bad idea, if you ask me."

"Nii-sama is not a monster, Jou. I think he **would** listen to you."

"Mmh, I dunno, kiddo… Don't go telling him, okay? I'd rather do that myself, if at all."

Mokuba looked doubtful, but nodded. "If you say so."

Katsuya called upon a forced grin, hoping to change the mood somewhat. "Guess we won't be able to hang out together if I'm getting called in… But hey, if you want, we could do something when I'm back again. I mean, he doesn't come home at midnight, does he?"

"Not always, no."

Dread flitted across Katsuya's face at the idea of being stuck in the office for that long. "Well, whenever I'm not being slave-driven by Mr. Big, Rich and Famous and you wanna hang out, I'd be happy to arrange something. I'm not gonna spend the entire summer break working or studying, deal or no deal."

"Seto told me about it." Mokuba sounded a little rueful. "I really appreciate your offer, Jou."

"Anything for you, kid." Now genuinely grinning, Katsuya ruffled the black hair.

Mokuba giggled, then hugged the other boy vehemently. They were granted one moment of peace like this before a stern voice called the younger one's name from the doorway:

"Mokuba."

"Coming, Seto!" the raven-haired youth replied before squeezing Katsuya again: "Goodnight, Jou. See you tomorrow!"

"Goodnight, sport. Think of me a bit when you sleep in, alright?" Katsuya added quietly.

Mokuba laughed. "Will do!" Then he hopped off the bed and went to his room.

Seto stayed behind just a little longer for some final words: "Remember: don't be late, mutt."

"Yeah, yeah; up yours, Kaiba!" Katsuya shot back before flopping down onto the sheets so his back faced the door.

A dark cloud settled itself over Seto's features at first, but it quickly transformed into a smug smirk when he saw Katsuya lift his head to peer at the alarm clock again, checking if it really was set.

Having seen enough for tonight, he left to tuck in Mokuba.

* * *

Ah, this takes me back - I love writing Bakura! :D It certainly helps that I've always had a thing for either outright villains like him or anti-heroes like Seto... *wanders down memory lane of fictional crushes*

Sorry if the bet's open stakes disappoint you, but I'm just rolling with what I originally came up with... Also, somehow I can't imagine Seto being in on the classic "I'll do anything you want [for a day]" thing. But maybe I'm thinking about this too much, as I tend to do ever since I took up writing fanfiction again :/

I hope you lovely readers liked this chapter too - I'd really appreciate some feedback if you can spare the time!

See you next time - and (early) Happy Easter, everyone! :)

P.S: This is pretty much the point at which I have exhausted my (consecutive!) pre-written material, so I hope you can forgive me if it might be a while before the next chapter will be finished!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4, y'all! :D

Sorry this took a while... Work was keeping me busy, but most importantly, I was steamrollered mentally and emotionally by Nightwish's newest album. It had (and still has) me spellbound... it has been a while since I last just sat here, listening, and got swept away by awesome and epic music. I think even my muse was affected in the exact same way ;)

Anyway, I'd like to take this opportunity to collectively thank everyone who has reviewed and/or subscribed to the story! I didn't think it would do this well, especially since my writing skills have become rusty... So yeah... thank you so much, everyone! I enjoy writing this enough as it is, but hearing that you like it too gives me additional motivation! ^_^

Now, happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YGO characters. Mizuki is mine, though (but her role is only very peripheral, don't worry) ;)

* * *

Saturdays tended to be quieter days at the office, and that was exactly why Mizuki Kobayashi often came to work on this particular weekday despite not usually being obligated to do so. It was the perfect time to sort out anything that was still unfinished, and then some. Her boss usually treated this day like a regular workday, so she wasn't surprised to find him in his office when upon her arrival, she checked to see if he was in.

But today, something was different.

"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba," she greeted him after receiving permission to enter, "Would you –" And here she stopped, because for the first time, she saw another face that was neither that of Mokuba Kaiba nor a business associate or reporter. Sitting on one of the two big dark brown sofas in the office was a mildly grumpy-looking blond teenager with a rolled-up suit sleeve.

"Good morning, Miss Kobayashi," Seto replied from where he was busily typing at his desk.

"I see you have a visitor," she remarked.

"In a sense, yes."

It came as an unexpected and almost pleasant surprise to the young CEO that Katsuya made any prompting to introduce himself unnecessary as the other teen put on his usual sunny smile and held out his hand. However, he wished he had bothered to straighten out that messily rolled-up sleeve first.

"Hi! I'm Jounouchi Katsuya– or just Jou for short."

"Kobayashi Mizuki. Pleased to meet you," she replied, shaking his hand with a small bow.

"Due to a project we have been assigned, Jounouchi will be with us for the entirety of the summer break," Seto explained, "He has volunteered to work when not doing research, so feel free to assign him any tasks where you see fit." He had left his desk in the meantime and now stood beside Katsuya. As he spoke, he casually reached over and took care of that bothersome sleeve with one hearty tug. He didn't care that Katsuya both clicked his tongue in annoyance and glared at him challengingly.

Mizuki didn't fail to notice that, but she chose not to mention it. "As you wish, Mr. Kaiba."

"Now, Jounouchi," Seto continued, turning to Katsuya, "Miss Kobayashi is my secretary. She will show you how to make yourself useful over the next few weeks. I expect you to pay rapt attention to her instructions, and do try not to cause her any problems, understand?"

"What do you take me for, Kaiba? Geez!" Now some of the previously glimpsed grumpiness returned as the blond teen crossed his arms.

"You don't want me to answer that." Pointedly ignoring the growl this earned him, he focused on Mizuki again. "And in response to your unfinished question: yes, I would certainly appreciate a cup of coffee."

"Right away, Mr. Kaiba," Mizuki said before bowing and leaving the office – she knew exactly how Seto liked his coffee. As she left, she couldn't help but overhear a brief exchange of fire between the two teens:

"You just couldn't resist, could ya? You just **had** to put me down before I even got a chance to try…!"

"That table of contents isn't going to write itself on its own, you know."

"Pushy bastard!"

"Lazy mutt."

Just as Katsuya swore colorfully, Mizuki closed the office door. She briefly raised her eyes to the ceiling before going to prepare Seto's coffee, wondering exactly what had compelled her boss to bring along this teen he didn't seem to be on terribly good terms with… And that other boy would be here for the entirety of the summer break? If this first impression was anything to go by, a **long** six weeks lie ahead of them.

Mizuki sighed worriedly as she fired up the coffee machine.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When they returned to the Kaiba mansion that evening, Seto and Katsuya parted ways almost instantly. Their only interaction for the remainder of the evening took place as they saw each other off in the foyer. The tension between them was downright suffocating at that point.

"If you disturb me tomorrow, I'll kill you," Seto said earnestly.

"Oh no, Kaiba is off-limits! What a cruel, cruel world this is!" Katsuya scoffed.

"You're impossible in every way." Blue eyes narrowed, and thin lips curled into a scowl.

"And you're the biggest jerk on the planet!" Hazel eyes blazed as teeth were gritted in frustration.

"If you knew what's good for you, you would back down and know your place." A threatening whisper.

A defiant snort was given in response. "And give you the satisfaction of winning? Dream on, Rich Boy!"

"You're only prolonging your own defeat. Fine, then: be ready at 7 AM on Monday. And may God help you if you put up such a damn fuss again."

"It's called actually appreciating the weekend. You should give it a try sometime," Katsuya said before whirling around to storm off to the living room, where he planned to kick back and watch some TV.

"Jounouchi," a snide, stern voice called him back.

He stopped and glared over his shoulder. "What?"

"Next time, the tie stays, or I **will** get you that dog collar," Seto told him.

Katsuya shot him a dirty look, but said nothing in response as he squared his shoulders and marched off to the living room. A split second later, Seto strode off in search of Mokuba. Along the way, he wondered if he should carry out his threat anyway – and what type of collar would best suit the other teen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The TV had just begun to broadcast a prime-time feature film – a fantasy flick, though Katsuya honestly didn't care what kind of movie it was – when Mokuba joined him on the couch. He was clutching two ice-creams.

"Hi Jou," he said casually.

"Hey sport, how's it going?" Katsuya asked. He was sprawled lazily on the couch, having finally managed to relax after escaping Seto's presence.

"I'm fine. Want one?" He offered one of the ice-creams.

Katsuya's demeanor brightened considerably as he accepted it. "Sure, thanks! You really are gonna be my saving grace in these next few weeks…"

"I'm sorry your first day didn't go well," Mokuba said as he unwrapped his ice-cream, looking troubled.

"I don't take kindly to slave drivers. The guy's a real killjoy and a monster," Katsuya grumbled as he copied Mokuba's movements.

"Nii-sama really **isn't** a monster, Jou."

"A beast, then."

The boy sighed and took a brief moment to catch a glimpse of the story of Narnia unfolding before asking:

"What happened?"

He was rather glad Katsuya didn't ask what he had been told by Seto; he doubted this was a good time to recall his older brother describing the day as "walking a very badly behaved mutt and constantly having to yank the damn leash to make him stay on the right track".

According to Katsuya, the day had been nothing but a chain of disasters, beginning way too early in the morning:

_(flashback)_

"_You're late!" Seto snapped when Katsuya finally came down the stairs with a bedhead and rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. "What did I tell you about being late?!"_

"_It was just supposed to be a couple minutes more in bed! And what's your problem, anyway? It's only five minutes…"_

"_You're still late, you imbecile. Now get moving!"_

"_Hey, what about breakfast?"_

"_Perhaps if you actually got up on time, you could afford to have some," Seto chided._

"_Come on, I'll starve! Pleeeease?" Desperate, Katsuya called upon his puppy-eyes, though perhaps he would have toned it down if he knew how much it made him resemble the animal in question, as far as Seto was concerned._

_The elder Kaiba briefly pinched the bridge of his nose. "Isono!"_

"_Ooh, thanks for the service, Rich Boy!" Katsuya beamed, pleased by the unexpected involvement of Seto's most important servant. His joy was short-lived, however, when the man wearing sunglasses entered the scene and handed him a single slice of toast. "Wait, this is it?!"_

"_Time management, mutt. Learn it. And tie your tie already."_

"_Like hell I will! Now you listen here, Kaiba: __**You**__ obviously don't give two shits about eating properly, but __**I**__ was taught that –!"_

_At this point, Seto tuned out the other teen's indignant rant about the concept of three meals per day, the importance of breakfast, how handing out one lousy piece of dry toast was just cruel, and the suggestion to look up the definition of the word "starve" in the dictionary. Instead, he focused on actually leaving the mansion at all, so while words still tumbled freely from Katsuya's mouth, he swiftly took on the task of doing up the tie. He thought he might have achieved a new personal record in the process. _

_With everything finally sorted out, he grabbed the wrist of Katsuya's free hand and yanked him toward the door._

"_Jounouchi, I'll only say this once: shut up and eat your damn toast. We're leaving now, and crumbs are forbidden in the car."_

"_You're the buzzkill to end all buzzkills, Kaiba. Were you even __**listening**__?!"_

"_No. Now move!"_

"_One of these days, I swear to God…!" Katsuya growled as they left the mansion. He really wished Isono had at least put a bit of butter on the toast._

"_Sounds like more of the old 'all bark and no bite' to me. Pathetic," Seto said dismissively. He smirked when he heard Katsuya yelp as the blond accidentally bit his tongue because the comment had made him unleash his surge of anger upon the last bit of helpless toast._

_(end flashback)_

"Ouch," Mokuba muttered. He knew Seto hated it when other people made him late, but on the other hand, he really wished Katsuya would actually catch a break from time to time.

"That's not the half of it," Katsuya muttered.

_(flashback)_

_After the lunch break, Seto noticed he was just seconds away from being reunited with Katsuya again when he heard the theme from "Mission: Impossible" being sung off-key just outside his office. He frowned. A moment later, the door opened, and a now considerably happier-looking Katsuya sauntered inside. The jacket of his suit was draped leisurely over one of his arms._

_Seto, on the other hand, looked exactly as he had before the break, and Katsuya wondered if he had even left the chair at all._

"_Hey Kaiba, what does data taste like?" he asked as he plopped down onto the sofa he had previously occupied. When Seto just raised both eyebrows at him, as if such a question couldn't possibly dignify an answer, Katsuya continued: "I mean, you being glued to that computer and not wanting anything for lunch and all…"_

"_Certainly better than dog food, I imagine. And in case you have forgotten: you owe me a table of contents and a project roster by the end of the day."_

"_Like I could forget with your nagging," Katsuya replied, mildly annoyed as he unwillingly turned to their history project. _

_He had only just begun to write again when the temporary silence in the office was broken._

"_Jounouchi."_

"_What?"_

"_Your outfit is incomplete. Fix that."_

"_Forget it! I feel much better without that thing anyway."_

_Seto growled. As soon as the time for a lunch break had come, Katsuya had whipped off the tie and tossed it to the far end of the sofa before heading out to get himself some eagerly-anticipated food. Over the course of the morning, Seto had noticed him plucking at it over and over again, as if it made him itchy or something._

"_What is it with you and ties? The fuss you make about them is extremely annoying," the CEO remarked._

"_It just doesn't feel right. Now leave me alone, Kaiba; I've got work to do," Katsuya replied curtly before grabbing his papers and sprawling out on the couch, facing away from the other duelist._

_Seto shot a venomous albeit unseen death glare at the blond; usually it was __**him**__ who cut other people off like that, __**not**__ the other way around. And while plenty of people learned that lesson quickly enough for their own good, Katsuya was one of the few who seemed incapable of learning it. It was just one of the things that irritated him about the other teen._

_Banishing these thoughts to the back of his mind so he could focus on his work again, Seto closed the window containing an unfinished game of Solitaire and continued working on yet another company report._

_(end flashback)_

"Did you wear the tie again after that?" Mokuba asked. He could see its dark blue end poking out of one of the discarded suit jacket's pockets.

"Of course not; he'd have had to pin me down in order to accomplish that, and unless he can suddenly grow some extra hands, he'd have been busy enough trying to subdue me," Katsuya answered. He cleaned the little stick in his hand of the final ice cream remains with a thorough lick. "So anyway, there I was, working on the damn project when…"

_(flashback)_

"_Hey Kaiba, how's this?" Katsuya finally asked, sliding a piece of paper across the desk. It stopped just short of poking Seto's hand. He had tried really hard to write as neatly as possible to avoid getting told to write it again simply because "no one could be bothered to decipher hieroglyphics" or whatever excuse Seto would be sure to come up with._

_The other teen's blue eyes scanned the paper for all of three seconds before he sent it sailing back at its creator with a curt flick of his wrist. "Useless. Do it again."_

"_What?! Why? You barely even looked at it!" Katsuya protested._

"_What you're proposing might be good enough to scrape one of __**your**__ standard pathetic grades, but our bet requires an A, so try harder and adjust it accordingly."_

"_How about giving me a helpful hint instead of an insult?"_

"_You __**would**__ need the additional help, wouldn't you?"_

"_It's called working together, Moneybags. Don't be such an ass, dammit!"_

_Seto just smirked in response; Katsuya was all too familiar with this one, the patented 'I'm Seto Kaiba and can do whatever the hell I want' smirk. It really wasn't one he was terribly fond of (then again, the same applied to all of Seto's expressions, as far as he was concerned). It vanished an instant later, getting replaced by the CEO's standard serious expression._

"_For starters, even at a passing glance, one would notice the complete lack of revision in your concept."_

"_Revision?"_

"_Yes. Proof-reading, checking the accuracy of citations, the fine tuning and finishing touches." The look this comment earned him as all he needed to conclude that this would mark a first in Katsuya's school career. "Top grades aren't the result of doing only half of what you could do."_

_Katsuya hummed, then scribbled onto his rejected paper as he muttered: "Re-vi-sion…"_

"_And plan enough time for that. Rushing through it only leads to many avoidable mistakes."_

"_How much time is enough?"_

_Seto just resumed his typing, focusing entirely on the computer screen. "I told you this is __**your**__ job, didn't I? Unless you're forfeiting, that is…"_

"_Me? Never! Fine, be that way!" Grumbling, Katsuya returned to the couch, though his added comment didn't go unheard: "She just __**had**__ to pair me up with the biggest prick ever! Fuck…"_

_(end flashback)_

It had taken him three more attempts before Seto had finally been satisfied with the concept. Somewhere along the line, the brunet had banished Katsuya from his office into the small meeting room next door because apparently, the blond had become "too distracting". Pencil-chewing? Scribbling loudly? Making too many of those friction noises against the sofa whenever he switched positions (which happened rather often, especially as he had gotten restless in the later afternoon)? He had been served an entire catalogue of complaints, and of course he had defended himself, so until he had been ordered to go into the other room, they had spent a considerable amount of time bickering with each other.

"Why did nii-sama ask for you to be in his office at first if he just kicked you out later?" Mokuba wondered.

"Probably thought he should keep tabs on me so I don't just goof off all the time," Katsuya reasoned with a shrug. "Not that I would have to begin with, but hey…"

"I wish you wouldn't fight so much," Mokuba muttered, thinking about the foul mood Seto had been in upon saying hello to him.

"I'm trying to cooperate, but he's such a damn tool! And I'm **not** his doormat, no matter what he may think," Katsuya declared. Then, deciding that Mokuba looked far too unhappy, he changed the subject: "Say, what do you want to do tomorrow? Unless I misunderstood him – and I'm pretty sure I didn't – I'm off your bro's hook till Monday, so I'm all yours instead."

Mokuba's face lit up at this, and since Katsuya was so much more open to all sorts of ways to have fun, a flood of suggestions came to mind, all of which he instantly voiced. There were so many things – badminton, swimming and hide-and-seek in the garden, just to name a few – that they ended up making a list of all the things they wanted to do before settling on making the vast backyard their entertainment arena of choice for Sunday.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The new week kicked off with July 30th, a date that had never been of any real importance to Seto, nor had he been aware that it was a special day of any sort. After he had gotten ready as per his usual morning routine, what was missing at just about 7 AM was Katsuya – like on Saturday. Infuriated, he stormed out of the kitchen and growled as he made a beeline for the stairs:

"I swear I'll kill that good-for-nothing mongrel…!"

Isono, who was about to see his boss off, couldn't help but overhear this. "Master Kaiba?" he spoke up as Seto had already climbed one or two steps.

"What?!" the CEO snapped.

"Mr. Jounouchi is already outside. He said he'd be waiting at the car."

Seto blinked. Katsuya was already ready? Surely this was little more than a joke or perhaps some sort of dumb prank. Why would the blond, who as he knew openly hated getting up so early, be ready before he was? Looking suspicious about this bizarre information, the brunet crossed the foyer and opened the front door, surveying the grounds.

Sure enough, at the end of the driveway stood Katsuya, clearly enjoying this sunny and as of yet still refreshingly cool morning. When the other teen noticed he was being watched, he outright grinned and waved.

Seto snorted, then said neutrally, as if he hadn't lost his calm just a moment ago: "So he is."

Isono knew there was only one appropriate thing to say at this point: "Have a nice day, Master Kaiba."

"Hn."

The driveway was quickly crossed in a brisk stride. At its end, Katsuya was still basking in the sunlight, looking up at the clouds until Seto arrived.

"Mornin', Kaiba!" he said brightly.

"What are you trying to pull?" Seto asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Playing dumb with me is one of the worst ideas you could possibly get, so stop it right now. And what did I tell you about the tie, mutt?"

"What? It's right here," Katsuya defended himself.

"It's untied, you idiot!" Seto pointed out.

Now his project partner shrugged. "Well, I'm no good with these things, and you did such a great job last time, so…" He trailed off with a grin.

At first, Seto seriously considered whacking him with the briefcase, but then figured that a fight would only get them behind schedule – again. Keen on avoiding that, he said gruffly: "Just shut up and get in."

Continuing to exhibit this atypical behavior, Katsuya obeyed without any further comment.

As the limousine drove off, Seto turned to face his peer. "Remember: squirm and get strangled."

Katsuya saluted him. "Gotcha!"

What was **wrong** with this morning?! Even his patented death glare had no effect, Seto realized with great frustration as once more, he reached over and tied the tie, all under the watchful eyes of a goofily grinning Katsuya (who still shuddered once or twice during this). He couldn't make heads or tails of this radically different attitude compared to Saturday, and although he knew he should technically just accept it, it bothered him instead.

It lasted for the remainder of the morning. Granted, at KaibaCorp., their ways parted as Katsuya reported to Mizuki so she could continue to teach him "how to be useful"; appearing to have lost some of her apprehension over this unexpected internship of sorts, she welcomed him with a smile. Meanwhile, Seto remained in his office. But whenever Katsuya had needed to invade his personal work space for one reason or another, that irritatingly compliant and perky attitude was back again. Was this Katsuya's idea of spiting him in the light of how horrible Saturday had been? It bugged the hell out of Seto – that broad grin and every at times almost cheerful utterance of something like: "Sure, Kaiba!", "Right away, Kaiba!" or "Gotcha, Kaiba!"

It could only have been worse if he had been addressed as "Mr. Kaiba". In a matter of hours, Seto found himself flat-out wishing Katsuya would just stop and put up a fuss again, no matter over what.

When it was time for lunch, Katsuya teased him again about living on a "data diet" until Seto eventually agreed to shut him up by having lunch together. Katsuya immediately agreed, his only condition being that they do so in the company cafeteria. Naturally, this prompted Seto to impose one as well:

"I too have a condition for this, mutt: Don't ever do that again," he said when they stepped into the elevator, which quickly began its descent.

"What?"

"That stupid act of yours. You're even more annoying than usual!"

"I'll admit it was quite funny to see you get so frustrated…" Katsuya remarked with a grin, folding his hands behind his head. His grin briefly broadened when Seto glared at him, but then he continued normally: "Seriously though, it's not **all** an act, Kaiba."

"You expect me to believe that?" Seto asked, crossing his arms.

"Yeah. And you know what else you had better believe? That you're gonna owe me something in a few weeks."

"You're awfully confident, considering this is only the first real day of the summer break."

"What summer break?" Katsuya asked jokingly. Unsurprisingly though, Seto wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Stop it already."

'_Ding!'_

"I smell a buzzkill…" There was the faintest hint of a sing-song tone to his voice as they stepped out of the elevator.

It went without saying that Seto's keen hearing picked up on that. "The fact that your life is tied to achieving a perfect grade is the only thing that's saving your sorry hide right now."

To his dismay, even a death threat didn't faze Katsuya. "Lighten up; it's just a little fun! You know what that is, right? Hey, I could always sing a song about it, if you want –"

"I am **not** into ear sodomy. Now shut up and choose your damn food!" Seto cut him off as they entered the cafeteria.

Needless to say, many an employee quickly pretended not to be astounded to see their boss temporarily join their ranks at this time of the day. Hushed remarks were exchanged as quietly as possible, and those within the CEO's field of vision counted on their co-workers to shield them whilst doing so (though some rumored Seto Kaiba had eyes in the back of his head). Many a glance was also directed at the blond teen whom Seto was glaring daggers at for shrugging off his previous remark and actually humming an obnoxious tune under his breath.

"I can't believe I'm doing this, conditions or not," Seto grumbled shortly after they had sat down at a small table with their lunch of choice.

Katsuya laughed. "Aw, don't be such a grump! Look on the bright side instead!"

"The bright side," Seto repeated flatly, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. You're being down-to-earth – you know, tangible and stuff by mingling with the commoners. People like that. Bonus points if it's their boss." Katsuya proceeded to take a generous bite out of his sandwich, the cheapest one available. "I mean, I know **I **–" he began to say, but was interrupted:

"While I can't wait to hear about your groundbreaking views, do everyone a favor and at least **try** to remember what acceptable table manners are."

Katsuya thickly mumbled what probably was an apology and tried to do exactly that as fast as he could. Meanwhile, Seto smirked as he picked at his salad (the best one in the cafeteria, naturally).

"By the way: what a remarkable choice of words, coming from you. Did the mutt decide to read a dictionary as a bedtime story?"

Finally, Katsuya was able to swallow. When he did, he rolled his eyes and said: "You're a real comedian, Kaiba. Is there any chance you'll ever stop with these stupid dog remarks? Like, **ever**?"

"I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree," Seto replied smoothly.

"Har har," Katsuya muttered before briefly shaking his head and then returning to what he had previously been trying to say. With both teens being pretty stubborn about their opinions, their conversation morphed into a crossfire, albeit without someone suddenly ending it out of sheer frustration.

In private, Seto welcomed this return to normality, and Katsuya didn't really mind it either – even though the blond had sometimes been forced to fight hard to resist outright laughing when he had seen the brunet become so deliciously frustrated with his compliance… Ultimately, however, he knew cooperation to a certain degree was necessary, even if it could only be part of a package that included dog comparisons and bickering when Seto was involved. But if this was it took to get that A, then he would take it, come what may.

After lunch, they returned to the top floor, where Mizuki was expecting them.

"Mr. Kaiba, Mr. Jounouchi, you have a visitor," she announced.

While Seto looked very skeptical about this (he tended not to bother with people who hadn't made appointments), Katsuya asked:

"Really? Who?"

Mizuki didn't need to answer, for just then, Anzu came around a corner she had been hiding behind. She was clutching two sizable baskets and wore her best smile.

"Hi guys!" she greeted them happily, "Surprise!"

Seto looked as if he had seen a ghost, but Katsuya caught himself quickly.

"Hi Anzu! Um… what's the occasion? It's not your birthday yet…"

"Oh Jou, you never remember…" Anzu mock-huffed, "It's International Friendship Day!"

"…Oh! It's already been another year?"

"Yes! Here you go, you two! Happy Friendship Day!" With this, she offered them the baskets.

Katsuya gladly accepted his, but Seto was a different matter.

"And you wonder why I consider you insufferable dweebs," he said with a slight headshake.

"Kaiba, don't be an ass!" Katsuya warned him.

"Can it, mutt. Admit it: this is just a stupid hoax you geeks came up with to annoy me," Seto retorted.

"Kaiba, I assure you it's real," Anzu chimed in, "It was designated a few years ago by the UN assembly to recognize the importance of friendship all over the world…"

While the brunette launched into one of her infamous friendship speeches, Seto grimaced.

"You should have told me about this – that way, I could have left you behind and would not be bothered with this idiocy."

"Hey, I really had forgotten about it! And besides, you mentioned I should get a taste of your schedule, didn't you? If you leave me behind, how am I supposed to do that? You'd be forfeiting the bet," Katsuya reminded him with a grin.

"This is hardly part of my schedule – even a dog like you should be able to understand that."

"You're such a stick in the mud! Look, all you gotta do is – sorry, Anzu, can I have that?" Katsuya asked his friend.

Even though she was still on a roll, she played right along and handed him the other basket. "Sure, Jou, here you go. Now, while some might think this is just as pointless as Valentine's Day…"

As Anzu continued where she had left off, so did Katsuya: "All you gotta do is accept this and at least **try** to be nice. She didn't **have** to do this, you know."

"Exactly; she **really** didn't have to. I don't want this!"

Frowning, Katsuya lowered his voice. "C'mon, don't be such a jerk. She really means well… Just this once, okay? …Please?" he added.

At first, Seto looked as if he didn't believe him. But finally, after some contemplation and catching a glimpse of hazel puppy-eyes, he muttered: "…Fine. But I'm making a reminder to stay far away from all of you this time next summer."

Katsuya breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Anzu's present wouldn't get rejected. Sure, at times she went overboard, especially with the friendships speeches, but she genuinely liked to show all the year round that she cared for her friends and valued them – and on this International Day, she simply took it a step further by distributing little gifts to the people she treasured.

If Seto had bothered to listen to her speech, he would have been informed of this, but as it stood, Anzu was wrapping it up:

"…so that's why I do this. I'm sure you'll understand someday, Kaiba," she finished brightly.

"This still wasn't necessary," he told her.

"Of course it was! After all we've been through, I could hardly show up without something for you too when visiting Jou!"

Seto wanted to tell her that yes, she could have indeed done so (in fact, as far as he was concerned, she needn't have stopped by at all), but when he caught a warning glare from Katsuya, he bit back that comment and settled for a nonverbal signal that he wished to get on with it.

"Thanks a lot, Anzu! We appreciate it!" Katsuya told her, quickly swapping his glare for a smile.

Anzu hugged him tightly, looking pleased. "You're very welcome! Well, I'll be on my way now… Have a nice day, you guys!"

After a small goodbye wave to Seto, she left them, merrily humming under her breath.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba," Mizuki said quietly, having noticed that her boss wasn't exactly pleased by this unexpected interference with his schedule.

"I'm presuming she didn't have an appointment, even on the shortest of notices, did she?" Seto inquired, keeping his voice neutral.

She understood what he was getting at, even if he had omitted explicitly mentioning his rule about non-appointed and unknown persons. "No, sir. But I did recognize her – Mr. Jounouchi told me about her."

Seto glanced over his shoulder at Katsuya, who grinned at Mizuki. "Just Jou, remember?" Then, addressing the CEO: "She's right. We talked about this and that during a little break…"

There was an interlude of silence before the brunet finally said: "Miss Kobayashi, please note that from now on, I will only receive people with appointments **and** who aren't members of the geek squad. You will shortly receive an email with the names in question." He could practically feel Katsuya roll his eyes behind his back at this, but he would be damned if he acknowledged that.

"Understood, Mr. Kaiba."

He nodded at her, then motioned to Katsuya, who followed him into the office. There, the first thing the blond did was sprawl out on the couch and happily indulge himself in some of the basket's contents. Only now did Seto bother to take a look at what "the friendship girl" had brought them.

A smile greeted him from within the basket. On a peach-colored paper plate, a variety of summer fruits had been assembled into a smiley face: a banana mouth, blueberry eyes, a raspberry nose, cherry cheeks and strawberries forming a spiky hairdo. Next to the plate lay an apricot that was probably meant to symbolize the sun, and beneath that, half a strawberry whose shape had been slightly modified to resemble a heart. Littered around the paper plate were one large chocolate ladybug and several smaller ones as well as an envelope with his name on it. The finishing touch was a pretty blue ribbon on the basket's handle.

Seto's gaze briefly flickered over to Katsuya, who was popping a little ladybug into his mouth, and he noticed that the other teen's ribbon was red.

**Color-coded** friendship gifts! No, he would never understand why she did this. And he was absolutely fine with that.

With a deadpan expression, he watched as Katsuya all but tore into the envelope. The way he went about this, it was as if he had gotten an early Christmas present…

"Ooh, look, Kaiba! It's an invitation to Anzu's birthday party!"

"Fantastic," Seto replied flatly.

"I know! Hey, are you coming too?"

"Your jokes leave a lot to be desired, mutt."

"Who says I'm joking? Look, it's even on a Saturday – it doesn't get more perfect than that! Stay up late, no worries about getting up early in the morning…"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Katsuya's mouth opened, presumably in a pitiful attempt to convince him otherwise, but Seto cut him off right away: "Now that we've gotten this waste of time out of the way, I strongly suggest getting back to work."

For a second or two, Katsuya pouted before proceeding to continue his informational treasure hunt on the Internet – thanks to a laptop with restricted privileges Seto let him borrow for the duration of their project.

"Poor ol' Moneybags… doesn't know what he's missing," he muttered with a theatrical sigh.

As he finally returned to his work, Seto merely rolled his eyes in silent response and banished the basket to the floor. Surely Mokuba would happily accept the damn thing in his stead, thus ensuring its discreet disposal…

* * *

What do you think, what song is Jou singing/humming? :D Poor Seto...

International Day of Friendship **totally** is legit! I was aiming to check up on something else, but when I saw that such a day exists, I couldn't resist the idea of including it in the story ;)

I wish I could foretell when the next chapter will be ready... alas, I cannot. I'm way behind in this really important work project, so I must prioritize that for now (damn deadlines *sigh*).

But I **will** be back! I can't wait to fix everything up till I can post the pre-written future snippets...!

Until then, I continue to appreciate your feedback, and take care! *waves*


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